Mental health 10

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Mental health Associated Press SALEM - State lawmakers have introduced bills that would force insurers to raise or eliminate limits on mental health treatments. Advocates from the Oregon Medical Association and the Oregon chapter of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill say depression, schizophrenia, eating disorders and other mental illnesses should not be insured differently than heart disease or diabetes. Most Oregon insurers limit health coverage and set higher deductibles for mental illness. Sen. Avel Gordly, D-Portland, urged insurance companies to amend their policies. Gordley has a son with schizophrenia. In Oregon, about 124,000 uninsured or publicly insured people have a serious mental illness such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, Menard said. About 27 percent are not receiving medical care. The following proposed bills deal with mental health care: · HB 2472 would require insurers to cover severe mental illness and, for children or adolescents, serious emotional disturbances. · SB 112 would prohibit health insurers from imposing treatment limitations for chemical dependency and mental or nervous conditions unless similar limitations are imposed on coverage of other medical conditions. Visit our back issue library Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Western Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing